When it comes to insurance, most people think about the basics - health, life, home, auto. Some people consider disability insurance as well. However, most people don't think that they'll need alien abduction insurance, and most men don't think about getting paternity insurance. But these insurance policies are real. Here are some of the bizarre things you can actually get insurance coverage for:
Alien Abduction If you are concerned about being abducted, against your will, off the planet Earth, you can purchase insurance that might help compensate you for the psychological and physical damage you experience. You can get coverage for a relatively low amount ($25 to $50 for a lifetime policy), and the payout can be up to $10 million. Of course, if you do make a claim, you are likely to find that the payout is $1 to $5 a year – for the next 2 million to 10 million years. Make sure you read the fine print. For more read from alien abductions to celebrity body parts, people insure the wackiest things.
Paternity Are you a ladies' man? If so, you might consider paternity insurance. This is an insurance policy that is purchased to help cover the… (continue reading......)

Insurance can be difficult to understand. For many of us, our confusion is exacerbated by the many insurance myths floating around. You might be surprised at what you think is true about insurance that has no basis in fact. Don't be fooled by the following 10 insurance myths.
1. Young and healthy people don't need health insurance: We like to think that health insurance is needed only by the old and sickly. However, health insurance serves as a safety net for unexpected health problems. Even the young and healthy can break a leg or contract pneumonia. Without health insurance, a hospital stay can be financially devastating.
2. Auto insurance will cover business use of my child's vehicle: If your child gets a newspaper route, or uses the car for pizza delivery, you might not be adequately covered by your auto insurance policy. Car insurance generally covers only the personal use of the vehicle. Once the car is used to make money at a job, an accident while performing that business function might not be covered. Double check with your insurance agent to make sure you know your coverage.
3. Everyone needs life insurance: The point of life insurance is to… (continue reading......)

Money market accounts can take the sting out of insurance payments. If you own a home and a car or have a life insurance policy, you have to shell out hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in premiums on a regular basis. A money market account is a great tool to cushion these financial shocks.
Using a money market account for planning, you can spread out the impact of your insurance bills and get returns from money market rates to help defray some of the cost.
When making a household budget, it's easy to look at insurance as a nondiscretionary item and move on to find other ways to cut costs. However, while insurance may be nondiscretionary, there's still some room to cut insurance costs. Indeed, insurance is the type of big-ticket budget item in which there is often room for significant cuts.
Low deductibles mean higher insurance costs One way to lower your insurance payments is to raise the deductibles on your homeowners or car insurance policies. It may seem like better protection to have low deductibles, but they generally come at the cost of higher premiums.
With higher deductibles, though, you'll have to build up an emergency fund… (continue reading......)

Chewing tobacco has long been a tradition among many baseball players. But the tradition that dates back more than 100 years is now being challenged. Congress is pressing Major League Baseball (MLB) to agree to ban baseball players from chewing smokeless tobacco during games.
According to a story from the Associated Press (AP), Congress wants major league baseball players to agree to stop using chew, dip and similar products during games. But it's an issue that will have to be discussed during future negotiations before baseball's labor contract is due to expire in December 2011.
Is Congress meddling with tradition? Depends who you ask. Some people point out that major league players are already not allowed to smoke cigarettes while in uniform and in public view. Also, smokeless tobacco has been banned in the minor leagues since 1993. But some major leaguers don't want to give up the tradition. San Francisco Giants reliever Brandon Medders told the AP: "Guys do what they do. We work outside. It's been part of the game for 100 years."
Not all players feel this way. During a Congressional hearing, former major leaguer Joe Garagiola testified in favor of the ban, arguing that players are… (continue reading......)